DENVER (Dec. 11) – Senior guard Hasaan Herrington had 15 points and four steals Thursday to lead the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team in a 97-61 loss to Denver at Hamilton Gymnasium.

The Div. II Seawolves, who counted the game as an exhibition, also got nine points and three rebounds from junior forward Sylas Williams in their lone competition against an NCAA Div. I team this season.

The Pioneers (5-6) were led by 32 points on 10-of-11 shooting from reserve guard Shaun Wysocki, while starting guard Carson Johnson had 21 points, six assists and three steals.

"We competed for the majority of the game, and the final score doesn't fully tell the story of how hard we played and the good things we did on both ends of the floor," said UAA assistant coach Ashton Pomrehn, who filled in for the second straight game as head coach Rusty Osborne attends to a family medical issue. "At the end of the day, Denver's physicality and talent were too much over a 40-minute span, but we got better on this trip, playing against a very well coached and disciplined D-I team."

Despite falling into a 17-5 hole in the first five minutes, the Seawolves rallied behind the play of Herrington and senior forward John McFadden, who sparked a 9-0 run. Herrington hit a free throw to draw within 25-24 at the 5:52 mark, and senior guard Akok Machar scored on a fastbreak dish from Elijah Mobley to stay within 33-29.

The Pioneers ended the half with a 12-2 run to claim a 45-31 lead at the break, but still had trouble shaking the Seawolves until late. Machar swished a three-pointer and Williams converted a putback to slice it to a 49-43 deficit with 15:48 left, before the Pioneers pulled away for good.

Herrington shot 5 of 8 from the field, while McFadden had eight points on 4-of-6 shooting. Machar and junior guard Zach Ibbetson finished with seven points apiece.

The Seawolves return to the Alaska Airlines Center for their non-conference finale Monday at 7 p.m. against West Coast Baptist. Find tickets, live links and more at GoSeawolves.com.